What US should do in Libya

As a new era of democracy looks like it will unfold in Libya, the US and international community should continue to support Libya’s Transitional National Council. That claim from UW-Madison Environmental Professor Samer Alatout.

“They (TNC) seem to be really understanding of what government, means what democracy means, how to handle the transitional periods,” says Alatout. He adds there are no guarantees on how the transition will take place.

Alatout says there are vast differences in how the US was involved the regime chance in Iraq compared to Libya. For instance, the US may have done air bombing in Libya but did not send troops like in Iraq. He says Libya is much more rooted in “tribal affiliations,” compared to the country held together in Iraq under Saddam Hussein’s rule.

The White House has said it has been supporting the TNC and wants transitional plans in place to avoid a chaotic post-Gaddafi Libya.